Three 1000 W 80 PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supplies Tested

hmm, maybe next time include a super-high-end psu that doesn't suck.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014

takes any of the psu's in this review to school.

Quote:

hmm, maybe next time include a super-high-end psu that doesn't suck.

Seriously where is PC Power & Cooling,Corsair, or Antec!
OCZ and Rosewill thats it? OCZ is alright, but Rosewill is crap.

try theses next time:
http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/turbo-cool-1200.html (not GOLD I know but still)

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=56794&vpn=HCP-1200&manufacture=Antec

I have a 750W Corsair PSU. When gaming with my i7 920 @ stock and SLI GTX 260s, I haven't come close to 400watts, according to my UPS. If you take the number the UPS gives and factor in the efficiency of the PSU, the power draw is much less. I've seen up to 360 watts with TF2 and Test Drive Unlimited 2 so far. Although running burn tests on GPUs and CPU will draw much more.

Running Bionc on CPU and F@H on both GPUs, I draw 441 watts with ALL components under HEAVY load. That's 100% on all CPU threads and GPUs. 1000W is enough for a lot of components.

I also idle at 189 Watts with SLI enabled.

can you do a low-end psu review so we can see some stuff blow up!

Call me a noob if you like, but I didn't realise using 230V was more efficient 115V. I guess that's a bonus for those of us down under.
I just wish I could afford the kind of components that would require this kind of PSU.

ChewieCall me a noob if you like, but I didn't realise using 230V was more efficient 115V. I guess that's a bonus for those of us down under.I just wish I could afford the kind of components that would require this kind of PSU.

can someone explain this to me, because i dont get it.

Anonymous said:

can someone explain this to me, because i dont get it.

Its got to do with varying efficiency at different voltage levels.

Consider the following:
Power(P) = Voltage(V) X Current (I) X Power factor (Cos phi)

Now for the same amount of power transfer, at lower voltages, the current required is more (See the equation below):
P = V1 X I1 X Cos phi1 = V2 X I2 X Cos phi2
(Substitute for V1 = 230, V2 = 115, neglect the slight difference in Cos phi1 & Cos phi2)

The losses are given by :
H =I^2 X R X t (where R is the resistance of the current carrying conductor, t is time)

Thus losses increase in proportion to the current squared.

So you have higher losses (hence lower efficiency) at lower voltages.

than why can you switch between? thats what im not understanding.

"Max. temperature difference air intake to outlet - less is better "
where's the logic in this?
bigger temp difference means the cooling system is more efficient and it takes the heat away from the components. why is air temp so important to you? If you cannot measure temp from inside the psu case (the components) why bother with air temp?

Anonymous said:

than why can you switch between? thats what im not understanding.

You can't switch between the two. US & Japan & some S. American countries (IIRC) use 115V while the rest of the world uses 230V. PSUs meant for both markets often have a switch and you need to set it to the correct voltage for your country and plug it in. Many modern PSUs will often have a large input voltage range spanning both the voltage levels so you won't find the switch in them (My Corsair TX650 for instance).

Total 3 PSU's that will never get on my wish list!

I agree that the choices are very poor. I've used PC Power and Cooling supplies for a long time and have never had a problem with them. And I've had exceptional reliability with my computer because of the solid voltage/current supply from these power supplies.
Many computer mags plus other sites have recommended this brand for rock solid current/voltage tests including one of the best for low noise and very high current demands with no voltage drops.
They cost a bit more but in this case you get what you pay for. Their caps are HUGE compared to other power supplies. Though now that another company has bought(OCZ I think) them they may loose their industry rating they used to have and are not being as well built as before.
I've seen enough of this, like Fluke who used to make top quality meters now have most of their products made in China and I'd never give them any vote of confidence. I know this because of a friend of mine worked there as product engineer and saw how they were going downhill. When They were merged with the Danahur corp (not sure of their name spelling) their quality has gone into the gutter.
It's how it is in these times of high profits first, quality last.
But so far I've had very good results with my 750W PC Power and cooling supply.
Have seen enough people complaining about video card problems that can be traced back to the power supply they use. I've never had any prob. with my hardware. You need a PS that has very little or no surge drop of the current/voltage and low noise levels. PC Power has been tops in this area and is the only PS I would recommend to my friends.

I agree that the choices are very poor. I've used PC Power and Cooling supplies for a long time and have never had a problem with them. And I've had exceptional reliability with my computer because of the solid voltage/current supply from these power supplies.
Many computer mags plus other sites have recommended this brand for rock solid current/voltage tests including one of the best for low noise and very high current demands with no voltage drops.
They cost a bit more but in this case you get what you pay for. Their caps are HUGE compared to other power supplies. Though now that another company has bought(OCZ I think) them they may loose their industry rating they used to have and are not being as well built as before.
I've seen enough of this, like Fluke who used to make top quality meters now have most of their products made in China and I'd never give them any vote of confidence. I know this because of a friend of mine worked there as product engineer and saw how they were going downhill. When They were merged with the Danahur corp (not sure of their name spelling) their quality has gone into the gutter.
It's how it is in these times of high profits first, quality last.
But so far I've had very good results with my 750W PC Power and cooling supply.
Have seen enough people complaining about video card problems that can be traced back to the power supply they use. I've never had any prob. with my hardware. You need a PS that has very little or no surge drop of the current/voltage and low noise levels. PC Power has been tops in this area and is the only PS I would recommend to my friends.

Who ever is doing these reviews, you are an idiot, this is undeniable for me after reading this. Its time for you to go spend some time reading the FAQ's over at Jonnyguru before you even touch another power supply.

You ignore when units fail ATX spec by having too much ripple on the 3.3V rail, you say the OCZ unit is the cheapest at $205, then 2 pages later say the rosewill is cheaper than the OCZ at $220, you ding the rosewill unit for having 47% efficiency at 2.5% load, no one designing a PSU even cares about a load percentage that low, and then you say the Sparkle cannot get up to the theoretical maximum of 120A between its 12V rails, its max is 1250W(104A) not 120A which would be 1440W, you made the noob mistake of adding the rails not looking at the combined power.

Go look at the jonnyguru review of it if you want to see a real review of the sparkle and not this farce.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&file=print&reid=212

Intel has said in the past the CPU needs it own 12v rail. They suggested this due to power noise caused by other high power parts like GPU's. I wonder what these single rail PSU mean for stability? In an overclocked system this instability could reduce overclock stability. I would suggest none of these PSU's.

I agree that the Corsair AX1200 is a glaring absence in ANY high end PSU review. I have one and it is absolutely awesome quality and power. Unbelievably efficient too (and it lives up to its rating)

Glad to see that Rosewill is finally becoming a contender, they have come a long way, couple years ago, i used to shy away from anything that had the Rosewill name on it but now they seem to be doing ok...

Tom's: I've been reading you for years, your articles are second to none... but almost every time you do one of these "comparisons", unless it's a two-horse race, you seem to pick three arbitrary items, omitting the clear leaders, and any other quality hopefuls. Where's Coolermaster? Where's BeQuiet? Where's Antec? Where's any Corsair products? It was the same with the Memory comparisons. It was the same with the SSD comparisons where you omitted the Patriot drives, which POUNDED your similarly-priced test SSDs at half the price. The article, as it stands, was great.. Only, once again, I'm left without a clue as to how it compares to any kit I've played with. When compiling a test, either test the MAJORITY of the options, or at least include the STATS from those not tested, along with your opinion as to whether they're reliable, based on your experience. Ta!

iam2thecrowecan you do a low-end psu review so we can see some stuff blow up!

I would greatly enjoy that

For this price range I would suggest the Antec High Current Pro HCP-1200 1200W. For $279.99 its one of if not the best PSU on the market. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371043